I Refuse to put Belgium as Favorites....or Dark Horses at Euros.

If we are to go based on pure talent, then a strong argument can be made that Belgium are one of the teams to watch out for in the Euros next year. After all, they have two of the best wingers out there, with two really good strikers, a pretty good midfield, a great defender and two keepers who are in at least the top six in the entire world.









So why does HH not give them the tag of favorites?

Pretty simple. I don't trust Belgium. I don't give my trust based purely on talent. You have to show me that you can back up that talent with that strong mentality to push through during the most strenuous of circumstances. As good as this Belgium team may be on the thing called paper, they are not battle-tested yet and have not yet proven to me that when things are tight in a semi-final match, they have the mentality to rise above and edge out the game.


Belgium's best player has to be Hazard. If you go by the kinds of performances given, he is clearly the better
footballer in comparison to De Bruyne, even though the paler one is more consistent. So if we take Belgium's best player, we need only look at how he has fared this season, which is to say he has been nowhere to be found as Chelsea's season has continued to spiral. How should I now entrust this player in a European Championship where the competition is far sterner once you now get into the knockout stages? Oh, and I should trust a dude who has not registered one truly exceptional performance in the Belgian colors?

Trying to think how good Belgium will do, will be dependent on them having all their players fit. If they do, I cannot deny that the team is still very solid. They were narrowly beaten by Argentina though a fantastic goal by Brikuain....mean, Higuain. In that match though, you saw their inexperience as the Argentines used their know-how of tournament football to see out the match. However, it wasn't a total beatdown, and they won't face many teams at the Euros as good as Argentina. If they do get things right tactically, and they apply themselves and bring their best game, then yes, it's very possible for them to win the Euros as there isn't a titanic team of great Zeus strength to fear.


I just don't buy it, and don't think they will do much. I will say either quarters or at best the semis. If Hazard and De Bruyne have a great tournament, and Wilmots can figure out how to have both Lukaku and Benteke on the pitch at the same time and working together, then we could be having a different conversation come next summer in the French fields.